USA - The drought that crippled many communities across the nation last year shows little sign of retreating, and the threat of persistent water scarcity is spurring efforts to preserve every drop. As the drought of 2012 creeps into 2013, experts say the slow-spreading catastrophe presents near-term problems for a key US agricultural region and potential long-term challenges for millions of Americans.

UK - Hundreds of schools have been closed and transport disrupted as a band of heavy snow affects most of the UK. Cardiff, Bristol and Southampton airports are closed and part of the M4 is shut near Bath. A rare red Met Office warning for snow is in place for parts of Wales, meaning severe disruption is likely. There is an amber warning for Northern Ireland and most of England, with snow also due in parts of Scotland. There have been widespread school closures in England with over 400 in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and 300 in Norfolk, while 300 schools and colleges have been closed in Gloucestershire. In Wales, 1,100 schools have been closed.

LONDON, UK - David Cameron has postponed a long-awaited speech on the UK's relationship with Europe to respond to the hostage crisis in Algeria. The British prime minister had been expected to set out his vision for the UK's future role in the European Union, including the prospect of a referendum. He confirmed that "a number" of Britons had been taken hostage and warned the country to prepare for "bad news". Labour pledged its full support as the government tried to resolve the crisis. It is not yet known when and where he will now deliver the speech.

UK - The meat posed a health risk because it had not come from identified sources, they warned. “There is no information on how the horse meat came to be in the burgers and so there is no way of telling whether the meat is safe to eat. It could be from diseased or injured animals, for example,” said John Sleith, the head of the Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health in Scotland. “If it hasn’t come through the official inspection system, there is no confidence that it is completely harmless.” David Heath, the food minister, said the Government “clearly wants” prosecutions after Tesco sold beefburgers containing 29 per cent horse.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - Temple Institute moves to new headquarters, and takes giant laver with it. A statement by the Temple Institute said the basin, which is 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) tall and 2.8 meters (9.1 foot) in diameter is kosher for use in the Third Temple and can be used to purify 12 priests at once.

VATICAN - The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins this Friday and ends a week later, on the January 25 feast of the Conversion of St Paul. Every year on this occasion, Benedict XVI presides over a liturgical celebration in St Peter's Basilica, with the leaders of the most important Christian Churches and communities. Their common objective is clear: to advance in unity.

USA - A second Republican congressman is suggesting that impeachment should be an option as President Barack Obama takes executive action to enact gun control measures. In an interview with Florida’s “The Shark Tank,” Florida Republican Trey Radel addressed Texas Republican Representative Steve Stockman’s statement that he might seek impeachment if Obama goes forward with executive action to bring about gun control measures. “All options should be on the table,” Radel responded. “It is one of those times in our history, we are at this breaking point,” Radel added, going on to explain, “We have completely lost our checks and balances in this country, the Congress needs to hold the president accountable for the decisions that he’s making right now, and that why again, I would say that all options should be on the table.”

ISRAEL - Netanyahu visits Gaza border, says over last four years Israel has stood up to strong pressure and will continue to do so. A day after American Jewish columnist Jeffrey Goldberg quoted President Barack Obama as saying that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu does not understand what is in Israel’s best interest, Netanyahu visited the Gaza border on Wednesday and essentially shot back, “Yes I do.” “I think everyone understands that only Israel’s citizens are those who will be the ones to determine who faithfully represents Israel’s vital interests,” the prime minister said in his first direct response to Obama’s reported criticism.

ALGERIA - Islamist fighters have opened an international front in Mali's civil war by taking dozens of Western hostages at a gas plant in the Algerian desert just as French troops launched an offensive against rebels in neighboring Mali. More than 24 hours after gunmen stormed the natural gas pumping site and workers' housing before dawn on Wednesday, little was certain beyond a claim by a group calling itself the "Battalion of Blood" that it was holding 41 foreign nationals, including Americans, Japanese and Europeans, at Tigantourine, deep in the Sahara. "This is a dangerous and rapidly developing situation," Britain's Hague told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.

ALGERIA - Algerian troops have surrounded a gas facility in the east of the country where foreign workers are being held hostage by Islamist militants. The kidnappers occupied the complex at In Amenas on Wednesday, after killing a Briton and an Algerian in an attack on a bus. Algeria says some 20 foreign nationals are being held hostage, although the kidnappers say they have 41. The captives include British, Japanese, US, French and Norwegian nationals. One statement which purported to be from the hostage-takers demanded an end to the French military intervention against Islamist rebels in Mali. Militant groups have vowed to avenge the intervention, where French forces have been battling Islamists linked to AQIM for the past week. Algeria has been allowing French aircraft to use its air space.

USA - Faced with a stubbornly slow and uneven global economic recovery, more countries are likely to resort to cutting the value of their currencies in order to gain a competitive edge. Japan has set the stage for a potential global currency war, announcing plans to create money and buy bonds as the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looks to stimulate the moribund growth pace. Economists in turn are expecting others to follow that lead, setting off a battle that would benefit those that get out of the gate quickest but likely hamper the nascent global recovery and the relatively robust stock market.

USA - US President Barack Obama has unveiled the most sweeping gun control proposals in two decades, setting up a showdown with firearms rights advocates. He called for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and wider background checks on gun buyers. The Democratic president also signed 23 executive actions, which do not require congressional approval. A month after the school massacre in Connecticut, he said gun-control reforms could wait no longer.

EUROPE - The world is edging closer to all out currency conflict as Europe’s politicians join a chorus of policy-makers across the globe pushing for devaluations to fight for market share. Jean-Claude Juncker, EuroGroup chief, has signalled that Europe is no longer willing to be the last economic player holding the toxic parcel of an over-valued exchange rate, describing the euro as “dangerously high” after its three-month surge against the dollar, yuan and yen. The comments follow warnings by two French ministers this month that the strong euro is holding back efforts to pull France out of deep industrial slump.

IRAN - Iranian Economy Minister Seyed Shamseddin Hosseini said Monday that Tehran plans to exclude the currencies of the Western states, specially US dollar and euro, from its foreign trade transactions, semi-official Fars news agency reported. "According to the decision made by the cabinet workgroup, dollar and euro will be gradually put aside from Iran's trade with other countries," Hosseini was quoted as saying. In June 2010, Press TV reported that since October 2007 Iran had received 85 percent of its oil revenues in currencies other than dollar.

GERMANY - Germany’s Bundesbank is to repatriate gold reserves held abroad to tighten control and combat currency crises in the future, pulling a chunk of its holdings from New York and all its bullion from Paris.